Downton Abbey

So, who's been caught in the web? Anyone? If not, go get yourself caught. :)

This series is part of the Masterpiece collection on PBS. It is set in turn of the century (do I have to specify now? 19th century) England. It dramatizes the complex interaction between the aristocratic class and their servants. It's very much a chic-flick, but I have to tell you,

I. Am. Loving. It!

I am a sucker for WWII movies, or as Justin puts it, "Turn-of-the-century British Soap Operas." Just to clarify (thanks, Cambria for pointing out how silly I made myself sound), I know Downton Abbey is not WWII, it's WWI. But those are some time periods I really like: turn-of-the-century and WWII. :) I think one reason I love them so much is the dialogue, the complex language expressed and understood by the population as a whole. I feel that as a society we have lost some of the beauty, precision, and eloquence in our speech that comes from non-television entertainment (and yet, here I am watching t.v., I know). I don't claim to speak this way, and that's why I enjoy watching/listening to it all the more.

A favorite line so far, "Cora, sometimes you can be curiously unfeeling." I just think it's so well put!

Anyway, season 2 is only available on PBS.org for another 5 or so days, and I have 3 episodes left. Whenever I find a show like this that I love, I foolishly stay up really late to watch more. I justify it because I'm working on Mackenzie's Easter dress and I have to get that done soon...so they go hand in hand. So, needless to say, I've been a bit tired.

But, gratefully, Mackenzie has been sleeping very well. She'll wake up in the late evening, but then sleep til morning. I can get used to that!! :)

So, if you ARE caught in the web, what do you think about Lord and Lady Grantham? about Matthew and Mary? Thomas? Daisy?

Calling all Opinions

Justin, this is for you: isn't it a cool logo?!?

This is a topic I have thought a LOT about. Since before Caleb was born, even. Justin and I have discussed it, but we both know it'll impact me the most, so I'm the one that has the biggest say. It's something that I know will change my life and my children's lives and I am just trying to do what is best for MY children. I've done a lot of research on it and now I would love others' input. I want to know your thoughts, your opinions, your experiences, your own research. Be biased, be opinionated, be honest. I want every facet, every angle, every possible strength and weakness revealed so that my own judgement and decision making is not hindered by ignorance. So please, read on, then tell me your thoughts.

HOME SCHOOLING

Now, I'm not meaning to degrade public school at all. I went to public school, and I had good experiences, good friends, and I learned well enough. So, this isn't to say public is bad, I'm just toying with the idea of giving my children a different experience. Okay, so here are my thoughts thus far on it (I might just write an essay on what I have learned so far--my favorite form of writing :D) But for the sake of not boring you too much:

Pros (hopes):
1. Flexibility: Your own schedule. Your own timing. Your own vacation. Your own style. Your own lessons, your own classroom (or field trip), etc. It's YOUR school.
2. Freedom: Children learn at their own pace; they study what interests them; you can plan lessons around each other. I also like that you can select how much interaction you want with the local public school. Of course how much assistance/evaluation you receive is directly correlated with how much say the federal government has on your own school...
3. Foundation: Your children are with you for the whole day (unless they do sports); You simply have more time to have a huge impact on them. As I read it on another blog, I don't want my children "socialized"--to be like the world and as the world expect--I want them to have social skills. And I want them to have the Gospel as a foundation. With them home with me, I hope they would build a strong foundation to bear them up in the world today
4. Friends: Like I said, I don't want my children without social skills. I want them to have friends, to play sports, to do whatever extracurricular activities interest them. I want them to be happy. I'd hope that with home schooling I could join and participate a local home schooling group of families so that my children could still interact with others their age.
5. Family: I want our family to be close. I love my sisters and my brother and my parents. I've had hard times in my life that have given me opportunities to be close to them, each one for different reasons. I value those relationships. I want the same love and bond and familial strength to exist in my family. I've read that those who home school are very close.

Cons (fears): (no fun alliteration here...sorry, I stopped being creative)
1. Me: Can I handle it? the time commitment? the inevitable frustration? the actual teaching part? The logistics of it all (like reporting assessments, curriculum, etc)?
2. Reality: What if they don't learn what they're supposed to? I'm worried about finding a home schooling group: if I don't find one, do I still home school? How do you decide which method, which course outline and curriculum to use or even start from? I'm not sure where to start with all that...and will I be able to balance teaching my children with being a wife (ie house cleaning, grocery shopping, doctors appointments--do you take them all with you?!--me time)?
3. The Unkown: I guess this is probably the biggest fear I have. I know why I want to home school, and I know how I think I'll get there, but I'm not sure what will happen along the way. I had some great friends in high school who were home schooled and I've seen many great examples, so I have to hope and believe that I CAN do it; but it scares me. Not as much as it used to, but it definitely still scares me.

Alright. Those are my hopes and my fears. Not in any particular order, but put out there. So now it's your turn. What are your experiences, thoughts, ideas, supporting or debasing ideas...:) I really do want to know what you all think, because I respect all of you. :)

And Napping

On top of sleeping in, what's better than a 3 hour long nap while both your children sleep soundly, too? Yes, dishes can wait; so can the trash and making my grocery list. Thank you, Caleb and Mackenzie for spoiling me for one afternoon!

Sleeping In

Who doesn't love the comfort and elation that comes from sleeping in and staying in bed that much longer?!

Mackenzie finally went to sleep at 12:00a.m. I thought it would be a long night. But when 6:30 came around...I hadn't been disturbed at all. True beauty sleep! I'm so grateful when I get a good night's sleep.

Oh, and did you catch that? Getting up at 6:30...yeah that was almost 2 hours of sleeping in!! Best EVER!

Happy Valentine's Day...Belated

Caleb and I made Valentine's for a few of his friends:

Super cheap, super simple, but he sure had fun deciding which friend got which dinosaur! And he was so cute when we delivered them! I don't know how many n's can actually fit into a word, but he pushes the record when he says, "Happy Valentine's Day!" I hope everyone enjoyed the day with someone you care about. :)

Life as we Know it

This is just a collection of pictures of my kiddos. Some of them are cute...some of them are funny...all of them make me smile. :)


almost 8 months old! (this is 1 month ago...yeah yeah yeah)

We discovered that she LOVES green bean casserole. She couldn't eat it fast enough! Her normal gorging was put to shame when she realized that food could actually taste GOOD! lol

My nearly perfect homemade tortilla. I was so proud! I really like this recipe I found (it's not online, so let me know if you're interested). It's one of the best I have tried: the tortillas have just enough elasticity, and they make good sized tortillas, and it doesn't use a ton of oil because there is oil directly in the dough. I used this batch to make enchiladas for the missionaries. I felt so supremely domestic. :)


Caleb trying out Justin's ear buds. He liked the music a lot!

Remember that special dinner I was planning? The one that I needed the Hawaiian sea salt for? Well, we ended up doing it. I just improvised and did Kabobs instead. It ended up being a success and I enjoyed the night with my sweetheart. And here's Caleb sporting the appropriate garb.

Mackenzie just giving me a crazy grin on Valentine's Day. See that double chin!?! She eats so much!!

She really wanted that tomato..."I wish my mouth was bigger." (don't talk to me about the improper grammar in that sentence...it's a QUOTE! lol. 10 points if you can name that movie)

I'd been wanting to do this for a while, and one day, I did. I took the car seat box from Caleb's new car seat we bought before Christmas, and I punched holes in it, stuck some Christmas lights down through them, and called it a "star cave." Yay! lol Caleb loved it and insisted Mackenzie join him. She seemed to enjoy it well enough.

Which ones were cute? Which ones were funny? Did any of them make you smile?

2 Days Just Isn't Fast Enough

At least that's how I feel right now. With out disclosing too many details, I had a special dinner planned for this Friday, since Justin's basically unavailable during the week. I had planned to pick up all the food on my normal shopping day, Wednesday. Well, we went out in the morning: 2 stores. Got almost everything. After naps we went out again: 5 stores!! I was shy one KEY ingredient: Hawaiian Sea Salt, or Red Clay SaltI'd never heard of it, let alone bought it, but I'd read that I could find it at Target, so I wasn't fretting. Until I couldn't find it!! I ended up ordering it offline, which with Amazon we get free 2-day shipping...but that means it's not here until Friday. And I needed it Thursday in order to have dinner on Friday. Sad.

I realize it's only one day delayed, but I'm really bummed. If I'd only known on TUESDAY that I needed to order it, I would have been set. But I didn't know that. I'm also bummed partly because through my gloomy disappointment, I kind of spilled the beans to Justin that I was planning a surprise dinner...surprise! lol Sorta funny. Maybe later.

I never thought 2-day shipping would seem so slow! Oh well, right? We'll have our dinner on Saturday. And this sea salt better be good.